“You forgot to say ‘Uno’!” Lang Giang cheerfully exclaims before covering her mouth in laughter. It’s the twelfth time she’s caught me this trip and blocked me from winning. By this point in our trek, day four of six, Giang feels more like a friend than my tour guide through Sapa.

Once the sun slips beneath the shimmering waves slathering the sky with soft pinks, reds and oranges, the green lamps of the squid boats strung across the horizon blink on and resemble a series of ellipses as if the ocean is trying to articulate the unsayable.

As the planet-wide dumpster fire that was 2018 comes to a close, we’d like to take a moment to look back at the year in Hẻm Gems through our first-ever Golden Plastic Stool Awards. These will honor some of our favorite local eateries from the past 12 months across four categories: Best Vietnamese Food, Best Non-Vietnamese Food, Best Ambiance and Best Cafe/Bar. We’ll also take a moment to honor our favorite Hẻm Gems that were shuttered this year.

Firmly established as the international school of choice in Ho Chi Minh City, the British International School is a selective, independent and co-educational day school that provides a diverse international education measured by British standards.

FMP’s Saigon International Mother & Baby Association (SIMBA) hopes you and your family had a wonderful Christmas and a happy new year—and is delighted to announce that our SIMBA gatherings will be resumed this month!

Vietnam is rushing to clean up Hoi An to prepare for a planned visit by world leaders as part of APEC’s program.

Tuoi Tre reports that by this morning, November 8, the flooding has mostly subsided in the central Vietnam resort town. However, as the water recedes, streets in Hoi An are also caked in mud and littered with trash, as well as debris from the recent landfall of Typhoon Damrey.

Thus, military leaders from the 5th Military Region ordered some 550 soldiers in nearby localities to help with clean-up efforts. Officers from this region are stationed in central Vietnam, including the Central Highlands and the central coast.

At the moment, the People’s Committee of Hoi An City has also employed the help of 500 local residents to prepare the city for a visit from many of the APEC leaders' spouses.

According to the newspaper, the city has finished restoring around 30% of venues included in Vietnam’s APEC itinerary. Hoi An officials predict that by tomorrow, local streets will be ready for decorations.

Zing also reports that the deluge of flood water started drying up on November 7. Most heritage buildings on Le Loi, Tran Phu and Phan Chau Trinh Streets were no longer waterlogged. Residents of the town are no stranger to flooding, as it is located in a low-lying area.

Typhoon Damrey was the worst natural disaster to hit provinces in south-central Vietnam in two decades. At the time of writing, the Vietnam Steering Committee for Disaster Prevention estimates that the storm has claimed 82 lives, up 13 from an earlier report released on November 6, reports Tuoi Tre in a separate post.